Drive for refuse compactor

ABSTRACT

A feed drive for a refuse compactor which has a mechanically driven compacting ram, and which includes a feed member for refuse that is driven between a loading and a feeding position in a refuse hopper by cam means actuated by movement of the ram.

United States Patent 1191 Hirsch 1 1 Oct. 8, 1974 [541 DRIVE FOR REFUSECOMPACTOR 1,999,012 4/ 1935 Woodford 100/215 [75] Inventor: StanleyHirsch, Westbury, NY. FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 393,164 10/1965Switzerland 100/215 [73] Asslgnee' Benson 333,419 2/1921 Germany 100/215[22] Filed: July 27, 1973 2 A 1 N 3 3 042 Primary Examiner-Billy .l.Wilhit I 1 pp 0 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Dugger, Johnson &

Westman [52] US. Cl 100/45, 100/49, 100/189 [51] Int. Cl 83% 15/30 [58]Field of Search 100/45, 49, 215, 216, 289, [57] ABSTRACT 100/138 189 Afeed drive for a refuse compacrtor WhlCh has a mechanically drivencompacting ram, and which includes [56] References Cited a feed memberfor refuse that is driven between a UNITED STATES PATENTS Duerr 100/215x loading and a feeding position in a refuse hopper by cam meansactuated by movement of the ram.

9 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures 181914 PATENItU sum 30; 3 3,889,953

DRIVE FOR REFUSE COMPACTOR CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION Thisapplication is related to the disclosure of my copending applicationSer. No. 151,814, filed June 10, 1971, for REFUSE COMPACTOR now US. Pat.No. 3,752,061.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention.

This invention relates to feed mechanisms for RE- FUSE COMPACTOR.

2. Prior Art.

My previous application U.S. Ser. No. 151,814, filed June 10,1971 nowUS. Pat. No. 3,752,061, shows a compactor of the general typeillustrated in this application.

The jackscrew assembly shown therein works very well for a compactingmember, and the feeding member has been improved to insure positivefeeding of material to the jackscrew.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to improvementsin refuse compactor feeders. The compactor feeder as shown herein is acam operated device which operates from a cam block on the compactormember or plunger. The cam follower is mounted on a rock shaft or pivotshaft which has arms connected to move a slidably pusher feed memberacross the bottom of a storage hopper to push refuse to be compactedinto a compacting chamber. After that, the jackscrew assembly isactuated to move the compactor member to compact the refuse, and whenthe jackscrew assembly approaches the end of its compaction stroke, thecam feed member is reset to its loading position by a separate cam. Inthis way the feed member in the hopper is positively reset in itsloading position after each compacting cycle so that refuse that isbeing placed into the hopper will be positioned ahead of the feedmember, and when the next cycle is started, a full charge of refuse willbe introduced into the compaction chamber.

In addition, improvements in the drive ball nut for the jackscrew areprovided for insuring that there will be no binding of the nut thatdrives the screw used in the jackscrew assembly for the compactor.Slight misalignments between the ram and the screw may occur because ofnormal tolerances or wear. The ball nut is mounted onto a separatespherical washer having a spherical seat, and is retained from rotation,but it can move a limited amount about its spherical seat to permit somemisalignment between the threaded members.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view ofthe compactor in one stage of operation and with part of the outer wallbroken away to reveal interior components;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the compactor in another stage ofoperation with the outer wall broken away to reveal interior components;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the compactor as shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken as on line 4-4 in FIG. 2 showing thedetail of one support and drive link for a feed member;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken as on line 55 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken as on line 6-6 in FIG. 2 showingdetails of a cam member and friction torque limiting clutch that may beused for the feed drive;

FIG. 7 is a detailed side view of the cam and drive member;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the ball drive nut used with the jackscrewassembly, taken as on line 8-8 in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken as on line 9-9 in FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The operation of the mainportion of the compactor shown herein, and the controls, as well as thegeneral concept of the compactor is all illustrated in my copendingapplication Ser. No. 151,814, filed June 10, 1971, for REFUSE COMPACTOR.The description therein is incorporated herein by reference.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the compactor consists of a hoppermodule illustrated generally at l and a press module illustratedgenerally at 3. The hopper module 1 contains a hopper compartment 5 anda feed assembly consisting of a feed plate 7, a drive mechanismindicated generally at 9, and a feed deflector plate 35. The pressmodule 3 contains a ram 11, a ram chamber 13, a drive motor and gearreducer 15, a jackscrew assembly designated generally by referencenumeral 17 and a nozzle chamber 19. Refuse enters the compactor eitherthrough the door 21, or through a chute, (not shown), which is connectedto the top of the hopper module 1 through doors that may be provided atthe top of the compartment.

In the general explanation of the operation of the compactor, the refuseis deposited into the hopper compartment 5 of the hopper module 1. Atthis time the feed bar assembly 7 is retracted in its position as shownin FIG. 2, and the ram is in its lower position as shown also in FIG. 2.When sufficient refuse has accumulated in the hopper compartment 5, theram 11 is raised to its upper position, as shown in FIG. 1, and the pushbar assembly is driven forward or toward the ram chamber as will beexplained, to urge the refuse into the ram chamber 13. Then, during thecompaction cycle, the ram 11 is lowered to compact the refuse as the ram11 travels through the ram chamber 13 and pushes the refuse through thenozzle chamber 19. This results in extrusion of the refuse through thenozzle chamber 19, which is designed to cause compaction of refuse inthe ram chamber as the refuse is extruded.

Loose uncompacted refuse entering the hopper module 1 passes through alight beam from a photosensor indicated in dotted lines at 23. Thisphotosensor can be wired in a convenient manner to control the motor andgear reducer 15. The refuse strikes the floor plate 24 of the hoppercompartment 5, with the feed bar assembly 7 in its retracted position asshown in FIG. 2. As the refuse accumulates it gradually reaches thelevel of the photosensor 23. The photosensor 23 is provided with a timedelay mechanism such as that it will close a switch to actuate thecompaction cycle only when the light beam is interrupted for more than aminimum of several seconds. For this reason, the passage of smallbatches of refuse through the light beam will not actuate the compactioncycle until a full load of refuse has accumulated in the hopper on thefloor 24.

When a full load of refuse is accumulated in the hopper compartment 5,which is about even with the bottom of the deflection plate 35,photosensor 23 causes the motor and gear reducer to be powered. At thispoint in the cycle the ram 11 and jackscrew assembly 17 are in theirdown position as shown in FIG. 2. The motor and gear reducer areconnected through gearing to drive lead screw 25, which is mounted forrotation about its axis and held stationary in axial direction withrespect to the motor and gear reducer on suitable supports. The leadscrew drives a movable ball nut or follower nut 27, which is threaded onthe screw 25. The follower nut 27 moves axially along the stationarylead screw 25 as the screw 25 is rotated. The follower nut 27 isconnected to ram 11 by vertical supports 31. As shown, three verticalsupports are used, for this connection, and are of the same constructionas shown in my aforementioned application Ser. No. 151,814.

In its lowered position the ram 11 and supports 31 carry a ram shieldplate illustrated at 43 in FIG. 3, to cover the opening between thehopper compartment and the ram chamber 13. The shield plate 43 isconnected to supports 31 with brackets 43A.

When the motor and gear reducer 15 are first energized, they will drivethe follower nut 27 and ram 11 upwardly along the lead screw 25 from thedown position as shown in FIG. 2 to the up or loading position of theram shown in FIG. 1. As the ram 11 is driven upward, the ram 11 passesthrough the ram chamber 13 and the ram shield 43'is raised to expose apassageway extending from the ram chamber to the hopper compartment 5.As a result, loose uncompacted refuse which is accumulated in the hoppercompartment 5 in front of the feed bar 7 in its retracted position asshown in FIG. 2, is allowed to spill over from the hopper compartment 5into the ram chamber 13 through the connecting opening passageway. Whenthe ram 11 nears the top of its stroke, a cam block 32 attached to oneof the supports 31 engages a cam follower assembly 33 comprising part ofthe feed bar assembly drive linkage. The cam follower assembly 33 willbe more fully explained, but briefly the ram acts as a lever to drive arock shaft 34 that is rotatably mounted in suitable bearings 37 to thecompactor frame, in a suitable manner.

The rock shaft 34 extends across the unit, as shown in FIG. 3, and atopposite ends of the rock shaft, suitable drive arms 42 are located.These drive arms 42 are drivably connected to the rock shaft throughhubs 42A, and as shown, the lower ends of the drive arms are attachedthrough suitable rod end bearings to links 44 which in turn connect to acarriage 45 on each side of the feed bar assembly 7. The carriages 45are shown in more detail in FIGS. 4 and 5. The links 44 are providedwith spherical rod end bearings at their opposite ends which attach tothe arms 42 and to the carriages 45 in the usual manner through the useof cap screws or the like.

When the cam block 32 strikes the cam follower lever 33, the camfollower drives through a friction clutch assembly to rotate the rockshaft 34 in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 1, and this willmove the arms 42 simultaneously to pull the feed bar assembly 7 towardthe ram chamber.

The deflector plate 35 mounted in the hopper compartment 5 deflects therefuse dropped into the door 21 ahead of the forward panel or face 6 ofthe feed bar assembly 7 when it is in its retracted position shown atFIG. 5. The feed bar assembly 7 comprises the leading panel 6, a flattop panel 10, and includes structural support members to which thecarriages 45 are attached. The structural supports are shown onlygenerally, and can be of any desired configuration to provide adequatestrength for the feed bar assembly.

The feed bar assembly 7 is fitted into the hopper compartment with closeclearances along the sides and bottom thereof with respect to therespective side walls 16 of the hopper compartment so that the refusewill not slip in between the feed bar assembly 7 and the side walls ofthe hopper compartment.

The feed bar assembly pushes the refuse from the hopper into the ramchamber 13 as the rock shaft is rotated by cam follower 33 which isactuated by cam block 32, and when the ram 11 and jackscrew assembly 17reach the upper end of the stroke, the motor and gear reducer 15 arethen stopped and reversed (the motor is reversible), which starts thedownward stroke of the ram 11. The feed bar assembly 7 remains in itsfeed or forward position shown in FIG. 1 as the cam block 32 moves awayfrom the cam follower 33. The ram and jackscrew continue the downwardmovement and the ram plate 43 closes the passageway between the ramchamber and the hopper compartment as the ram lowers. The ram movesdownwardly through the ram chamber to drive the refuse in the ramchamber ahead of it, pushing and compacting the refuse into the nozzlechamber 19 which is reduced in cross sectional area, resulting in theextrusion of the refuse through the nozzle chamber 19. The ram 11 passescompletely through the ram chamber 13 to completely clear the ramchamber of refuse.

Suitable shearing bars, which are not shown, can be provided with theram to shear off any refuse material across the opening between thehopper compartment 5 and the ram chamber 13. In the lower portions ofthe stroke of the ram 11, a second cam block 50, which is attached tothe same support 31 as the cam block 32, engages the upper portion ofthe cam follower 33, and through the friction clutch assembly, whichwill be more fully explained, the cam follower rotates the rock shaft 34in opposite direction from the previous movement, and moves the arms 42back toward their original retracted position as shown in FIG. 2 withthe feed bar assembly 7 retracted. The links 44 are sufficiently strongto carry compression loading of the empty feed bar assembly as it ismoved back to its retracted position. The last few inches of travel ofthe ram resets the feed bar assembly so that the hopper compartment isopen and ready to receive additional refuse. The ram stays in its downposition, as shown in FIG. 2, until the hopper compartment is againfilled so that the photosensor 23 starts the motor and gear drive 15 toagain repeat the compaction cycle previously described.

It should be noted that the feed bar assembly precompresses the refuseas it moves the refuse into the ram chamber, to aid in the overallcompression of the refuse. The nozzle 19 can lead to suitable baggingapparatus or attachments, or the compacted refuse can be disposed of inany other desired way.

It should also be noted that the entire electrical circuit shown in myprevious application Ser. No. l51,l80 can be incorporated into this unitfor operation, and therefore the controls here are not shown in anydetail. Even manual operation of the motor and gear reducer can beeffected, if desired.

Now referring to FIG. 4, a typical carriage support 45 for the feed barassembly 7 is shown. There is one of these carriage supports, operatingon an associated track, on each side of the hopper compartment, and eachof the carriage supports 45 is controlled by one of the arms 42. Asshown, the feed bar assembly face panel 6 is illustrated fragmentarily,and the side wall 16 has a slot-like opening 16A defined therein. Thecarriage 45 is fixed to the support members for the feed bar assembly 7,and includes an outwardly extending support 51 that extends through theslot 16A, and to which the respective link 44 is attached through thetypical spherical rod end bearing.

The support 51 has a downwardly depending plate member 52 attachedthereto, and this member 52 is positioned on the outside of the wall 16.The member 52 carries a pair of rollers 53, which are rotatably mountedon the inner side of the support 52 and which rotatably engage a flange54 of a track member 55 which is attached to the side wall 16 of thehopper compartment and extends along the path of the feed bar. Theflanges 54 are generally parallel to the bottom wall 24 of the hoppercompartment. The track member 55 thus provides the support and guidemeans for the feed bar assembly 7 as the arms 42 are actuated to pullthe feed bar assembly 7 to its feeding or forward position, and also topush the feed bar assembly back to its retracted position. In addition,the support 52 has a pair of side guide rollers 56 mounted thereon.These side guide rollers are rotatably mounted about vertical axes, andengage the track 55 on the outer surface thereof, which is parallel tothe surface of the wall 16. This keeps the feed bar from moving sidewaysin the hopper compartment to a point where it would hang up or rubagainst the opposite side walls of the hopper compartment. The carriagesprovide a stable adequate guide for movement of the feed bar as the feedbar is actuated.

Now, referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, details of a typical cam follower leveris shown with a friction clutch for driving the rock shaft to insurethat overloads do not occur through the drive member. However, in manyinstances the friction clutch is not necessary, but a fixed connector,such as a key or drive pin between the cam follower and the rock shaftis all that is needed.

As shown, the cam follower 33 is a flat lever member that is driventhrough the friction clutch assembly illustrated generally at 60 to therock shaft 34. The rock shaft 34 mounts a hub 61 that is drivablymounted to the rock shaft with a suitable pin or in other ways. The hubincludes a backing plate 62, against which a first friction disc 63 isfitted. The cam follower 33 has an opening that slips over the centralportion of the hub 61, against the first friction disc 63, and a secondfriction disc 63 is then placed on the outer surface of the cam follower33. A backing plate 64 is provided, and is spring loaded through abellville spring 65 and a nut 66 that is threadably mounted on the outerend of the hub that protrudes beyond the backing plate 64. The arm 42 isconnected to the rock shaft with a suitable drive pin or the like.

The cam follower lever 33 itself is made so the end which is engaged bythe cam blocks is offset to provide alignment with the cam blocksattached to the supports 31. The cam follower 33 has a laterallyextending member 33A that in turn rotatably mounts a cam foller 338 thatis positioned in vertical alignment with the cam blocks 32 and 50 sothat the blocks will engage the roller 338 to actuate the cam followerand the rock shaft 34 during the stroke of the cam.

In FIGS. 8 and 9, details of the seat for the ball nut used with thelead screw 25 are shown. The supports 31 for the ram are attached toportions of a base 67 that is connected to the supports 31 and this base67 in turn supports a ball nut housing that can be formed in any desiredmanner, but includes a wall 68 that surrounds the ball nut, and anoverlying flange 69 that is removably attached to the wall 68, but whichholds the nut captive in the housing when the nut is in place. The base67 has an opening through which the lead screw 25 extends, and a typicalball nut 27 is provided for threadably receiving the screw 25. The nut27 has a flange at the lower end thereof. This flange comprises anannular member extending outwardly from the nut and is indicated at 70.The flange 70 has a pair of slots 71 defined therein diametricallyopposed from each other, and adapted to mate with lugs 72 that areattached to the housing wall 68. These lugs 72 are thus fixed withrespect to the ball nut housing, and with respect to the ram and ramsupports 31. The interlocking lugs 72 and grooves 71 on the ball nutprovide for some movement of the nut with respect to the housing, butthe lugs 72 prevent the nut 27 from rotating with the lead screw whenthe screw 25 is rotated by the motor and gear reducer.

In order to permit the nut to cant slightly if the lead screw ismisaligned with respect to the ram, and with respect to the supports 31,a spherical seat (concave) washer 73 is placed inside the housing wall68, and on top of the base 67. The ball nut flange 70 is provided with aspherical lower surface 74 (convex) that mates with the concave surfaceof the washer 73, so that there can be some movement of the ball nutflange itself with respect to the washer 73, as constrained by the lug72 and the slot 71. This permits the ball nut to cant slightly indifferent directions due to slight misalignment between the ram and ramsupports 31 and the screw 25. The nut will be supported and still freeto move so that there wont be any binding between the nut and the screw25. The nut will still be prevented from rotating so that as the screw25 is rotated, the ram will be moved up and down along the screw for thecompaction cycle. The housing for the washer 73 can be packed withgrease for adequate lubrication.

The compactor thus includes improvements in the feed mechanism and ballnut support for increased reliability and positive feed.

What is claimed is:

1. In a refuse compactor having a compacting member and a compactionchamber, and power means for moving such compacting member in acompacting stroke from a loading position to a compacting position, ahopper positioned adjacent said compaction chamber for receiving refuseto be compacted, said hopper communicating with said compaction chamber,a feed bar assembly within said hopper to foreceably move refuse in thehopper into the compaction chamber, said feed bar assembly being :movedbetween a retracted loading position and a feeding position, a linkageconnected to said feed bar, and a cam follower, means to drivablyconnect said cam follower to said linkage, and a cam member mounted onsaid compacting member to mechanically engage said cam follower in atleast in portions of said compacting stroke to selectively move saidfeed bar between said feeding and retracted positions during preselectedportions of said compacting stroke.

2. The combinations specified in claim 1 wherein said cam followercomprises a lever member, and said means to drivably connect said camfollower to said linkage comprises a rock shaft, means drivablyconnecting said lever member and said rock shaft, said rock shaft beingrotatably mounted on said compactor, and arm means drivably mounted onsaid rock shaft and connected to said linkage for moving said linkage assaid rock shaft rotates.

3. The combination as specified in claim 1 wherein said cam followercomprises a lever member, and said means connecting said cam follower tosaid linkage comprises friction clutch means to permit slipping of saidlever member when the force exerted thereon exceeds a preselectedamount.

4. The combination as specified in claim 1 where said compacting membercomprises a ram, a screw for driving said ram, a drive motor forrotating said screw, and a nut mounted on said screw and coupled to saidram, and mating spherical seat means between said nut and said ram topermit limited movement of said nut relative to said ram resulting frommisalignment between said screw and said nut.

5. The combination as specified in claim 4 wherein said nut is connectedto said ram by slotted linkage means permitting a limited amount ofmovement of said nut on said spherical seat means while preventingrotation thereof with said screw.

6. A refuse compactor comprising a housing having a ram chamber, a rammounted for movement in said chamber between a loading and a compactingposition during a ram stroke, power means for driving said ram, a hopperpositioned adjacent said ram chamber and communicating therewith througha provided opening, said hopper including a feed member movable betweena retracted position wherein said hopper receives gravity fed looserefuse and a feeding position wherein refuse in said hopper is movedinto said ram chamber, and a cam drive assembly for moving said feedmember between the retracted and feeding positions, said cam driveassembly comprising a cam follower, means to drivably connect said camfollower to said feed member, and a cam member mounted directly on saidram and engaging and driving said cam follower at least in portions ofsaid stroke to thereby move said feed member between its respectivepositions.

7. The combination as specified in claim 6 wherein said cam membercomprises a pair of blocks mounted on said ram and positioned to engagesaid cam follower adjacent the opposite ends of said ram stroke.

8. The combination as specified in claim 6 wherein said means todrivably connect comprises a rock shaft mounting said cam follower, armmeans mounted on said rock shaft on opposite sides of said hopper, linkmeans extending from said arm means to said feed member, whereby pivotalmovement of said rock shaft caused by movement of said cam followercauses said arms to move said feed member.

9. The combination as specified in claim 8 and torque limiting meansbetween said cam follower and said rock shaft to limit the amount oftorque carried by said rock shaft.

1. In a refuse compactor having a compacting member and a compactionchamber, and power means for moving such compacting member in acompacting stroke from a loading position to a compacting position, ahopper positioned adjacent said compaction chamber for receiving refuseto be compacted, said hopper communicating with said compaction chamber,a feed bar assembly within said hopper to foreceably move refuse in thehopper into the compaction chamber, said feed bar assembly being movedbetween a retracted loading position and a feeding position, a linkageconnected to said feed bar, and a cam follower, means to drivablyconnect said cam follower to said linkage, and a cam member mounted onsaid compacting member to mechanically engage said cam follower in atleast in portions of said compacting stroke to selectively move saidfeed bar between said feeding and retracted positions during preselectedportions of said compacting stroke.
 2. The combinations specified inclaim 1 wherein said cam follower comprises a lever member, and saidmeans to drivably connect said cam follower to said linkage comprises arock shaft, means drivably connecting said lever member and said rockshaft, said rock shaft being rotatably mounted on said compactor, andarm means drivably mounted on said rock shaft and connected to saidlinkage for moving said linkage as said rock shaft rotates.
 3. Thecombination as specified in claim 1 wherein said cam follower comprisesa lever member, and said means connecting said cam follower to saidlinkage comprises friction clutch means to permit slipping of said levermember when the force exerted thereon exceeds a preselected amount. 4.The combination as specified in claim 1 where said compacting membercomprises a ram, a screw for driving said ram, a drive motor forrotating said screw, and a nut mounted on said screw and coupled to saidram, and mating spherical seat means between said nut and said ram topermit limited movement of said nut relative to said ram resulting frommisalignment between said screw and said nut.
 5. The combination asspecified in claim 4 wherein said nut is connected to said ram byslotted linkage means permitting a limited amount of movement of saidnut on said spherical seat means while preventing rotation thereof withsaid screw.
 6. A refuse compactor comprising a housing having a ramchamber, a ram mounted for movement in said chamber between a loadingand a compacting position during a ram stroke, power means for drivingsaid ram, a hopper positioned adjacent said ram chamber andcommunicating therewith through a provided opening, said hopperincluding a feed member movable between a retracted position whereinsaid hopper receives gravity fed loose refuse and a feeding positionwherein refuse in said hopper is moved into said ram chamber, and a camdrive assembly for moving said feed member between the retracted andfeeding positions, said cam drive assembly comprising a cam follower,means to drivably connect said cam follower to said feed member, and acam member mounted directly on said ram and engaging and driving saidcam follower at least in portions of said stroke to thereby move saidfeed member between its respective positions.
 7. The combination asspecified in claim 6 wherein said cam member comprises a pair of blocksmounted on said ram and positioned to engage said cam follower adjacentthe opposite ends of said ram stroke.
 8. The combination as specified inclaim 6 wherein said means to drivably connect comprises a rock shaftmounting said cam follower, arm means mounted on said rock shaft onopposite sides of said hopper, link means extending from said arm meansto said feed member, whereby pivotal movement of said rock shaft causedby movement of said cam follower causes said arms to move said feedmemBer.
 9. The combination as specified in claim 8 and torque limitingmeans between said cam follower and said rock shaft to limit the amountof torque carried by said rock shaft.